Interactive audio-visual apparatus

ABSTRACT

A device for the viewing of photo-images and the presentation of sound recordings corresponding to such photo-images, which device may be controlled by the user to provide substantially random access to any photo-image and the sound recording corresponding thereto, is disclosed. A modular construction of such device and its adaptability to either hand-held or projection embodiments is described. A novel tone arm system as well as a novel turntable driving mechanism, a novel disc type record unit and a novel record changing mechanism is disclosed. In addition, a novel stereoscopic system based on the use of two identical views of the field of vision is disclosed and a specific optical system is described. Finally, a method of and means for coordinating a group of photo-images and a group of sound recordings so that selection of a particular photo-image automatically selects the corresponding sound recording is disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to audio-visual apparatus for the simultaneousviewing of photo-images and audio production of a lecture or commentaryrelating thereto and more particularly to such an apparatus which may becontrolled by the user to select any one of a group of photo-images forviewing or to sequentially view the photo-images of such group in anydesired order with the audio production of the lecture or commentaryrelating to each photo-image being automatically selected from acorresponding group of sound recordings.

The prior art provides apparatus of various kinds for the simultaneousviewing of photo-transparencies and audio production of sound associatedtherewith. The most crucial feature of any such apparatus is, of course,to obtain proper synchronization between the presentation of thephoto-transparency for viewing and the production of the sound.

The apparatus used for presenting motion pictures with accompanyingsounds is a well known example of the broad concept. However, it will beunderstood that such apparatus must be designed to present a largenumber of photo-transparencies in fixed sequence and rapid succession,each in conjunction with the production of a relatively short segment ofsound from a sequentially recorded series of sounds or "sound track." Inevery instance a number of slightly different photo-transparencies willbe presented in connection with sounds comprising a single word of humanspeech.

It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus in which anextended dialogue or portion of a lecture or commentary is produced inconjunction with the presentation of a single photo-image for extendedviewing. Thus, techniques and apparatus suitable for the presentation ofmotion pictures with sound are not applicable in accomplishing theobjects of this invention.

Others have designed apparatus for use in advertising or in thepresentation of travelogues or for instructional purposes in which aseries of photo-transparencies are presented for viewing in conjunctionwith the audio production of an extended segment of a recorded soundtrack comprising a dialogue, lecture or commentary. However, in suchapparatus the synchronization between the sound track and thepresentation of the photo-transparencies has been accomplished byproviding for the sound track to control the presentation of thephoto-transparencies in fixed sequence. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No.3,048,083 to Rosenbaum.

The magnetic tape, of course, need not be endless as disclosed byRosenbaum and in some devices of the general type the mechanism is notautomatic. Instead, the control signal is produced as an audible soundto remind the operator to advance the photo-transparencies from one tothe next in the fixed sequence.

Similar results have been obtained in apparatus of the type in which thedialogue, lecture, or commentary is recorded on conventional disc typerecords as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,138,061 to Greenway, forexample. In such apparatus, a control signal may be recorded on the discand used in the same way as described above. However, as disclosed byGreenway, it is also possible to utilize the changing angular positionof the tone arm as it moves across the record to control thepresentation of the photo-transparencies in fixed sequence.

It is another object of this invention to provide apparatus of the typebroadly described above in which the presentation of a photo-image froma group thereof automatically selects for production a particularportion of a sound track corresponding to such group of photo-images.Thus, prior art apparatus as disclosed by Rosenbaum and Greenway inwhich the sound track controls the presentation of thephoto-transparencies is not applicable in accomplishing the objects ofthis invention.

It will be understood that in all apparatus of the prior art asdiscussed above, the presentation of the photo-transparencies and theproduction of sound must occur in a fixed time sequence. Thus, a certainamount of time is allowed for viewing each photo-transparency whichamount of time is controlled by the sound track. In order to view aparticular photo-transparency for a longer or shorter period of timethan that allowed by the established time sequence, it would benecessary to interrupt the normal operation of at least the sound systemof the apparatus thus tending to interfere with the synchronizationbetween the sound track and the sequence of photo-transparencies.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,160 to Glass et al discloses an audio visual toy inwhich visual presentations may be viewed for any desired length of timeindependently of the audio presentation associated therewith. However,in using audio-visual apparatus of the type described above forinstructional purposes, it is highly desirable that the person who seeksinstruction be able to interact with the apparatus. If the user of thetoy taught by Glass et al attempts to interact with the device byviewing the visual presentations out of their normal order, thesynchronization between the visual presentation and the audiopresentations will be destroyed.

In order to provide optimum interaction between the apparatus and theperson seeking instruction from it, it is necessary that such person beable to control the sequence in which the photo-transparencies and thesound corresponding thereto are presented. It will be seen that in theapparatus of the prior art it is highly inconvenient, if not impossible,for the user to vary the order of the sequence of the presentationwithout destroying the synchronization between the sequence of thephoto-transparencies and that of the sound track.

It is a still further object of this invention to enable fullinteraction between audio-visual apparatus of the type described and aperson seeking instruction by providing apparatus which may be operatedin a substantially random access mode under the control of such person.

It is often desirable to present two or more different things forcomparative viewing in order to instruct persons as to similarities ordifferences between such things. It is also desirable that such thingsbe clearly presented to the viewer and often desirable that they bepresented stereoscopically so that differences or similarities in formmay be seen. Finally, it is often desirable in such situations to directthe attention of the viewer first to one and then to another of two ormore things presented for viewing.

It is another object of this invention to provide a stereoscopic viewingsystem based on the use of two identical views of a particular field ofvision in order to provide clarity of view, apparent depth perception,and optical separation between fields of vision to facilitatecomparative viewing of different things.

In order for audio-visual apparatus to be useful for instructionalpurposes, it is necessary that such apparatus be simple and convenientto operate, small, rugged and lightweight for portability, andinexpensive to manufacture and maintain. It is yet another object ofthis invention to provide apparatus of the type described based on theuse of disc type records for sound recording which are mounted in ruggedunits for storage and use, whereby the mechanism of such apparatus isinexpensive to manufacture and maintain, small, lightweight and ruggedfor portability and convenient to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus of this invention comprises means for sequentiallypresenting each of a plurality of photo-images for viewing and means forsequentially producing the audio rendition of each of a plurality ofsound recordings all of which have a time duration greater than onesecond. According to this invention the apparatus also includes meansfor automatically correlating the beginning of the audio rendition ofeach one of the plurality of sound recordings with the beginning of thepresentation of a different one of said plurality of photo-images forviewing and means for controlling the length of time during which eachphoto-image is presented for viewing, and the audio rendition of thesound recording correlated therewith is produced, independently of thetime duration of said sound recording correlated therewith. The soundrecordings are preferably made in disc type records although magnetictape recordings could be used. The presentation of the photo-images ispreferably stereoscopic and the photo-images are preferably directlyviewed photo-transparencies although it would be possible to projectphoto-transparencies for indirect viewing and to use photographic printsrather than transparencies for direct stereoscopic viewing. Theapparatus preferably includes a novel tone arm arrangement and a pair ofdisc type records for use with the apparatus are preferably mounted as aunit in a novel package. The apparatus also preferably includes a novelmechanism for receiving the record units and a novel drive mechanism forrotating the disc type records.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The foregoing and other objects and features of the apparatus of thisinvention will be more fully appreciated when the following detaileddescription is read in conjunction with the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the apparatus of thisinvention with a plurality of photo-images positioned therein for usebut with the disc type record unit containing the sound recordingsremoved therefrom.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a disc type record unit suitable for usein the embodiment of the apparatus of this invention shown in FIG. 1,represented in position to be inserted into the embodiment of theapparatus of this invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the rear portion of theright end of the embodiment of the apparatus of this invention as shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the optical system of theembodiment of the apparatus of this invention shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view in perspective of the embodiment of theapparatus of this invention shown in FIG. 1 with the outer coveringsthereof either removed or shown in opened position to expose internalparts and with certain portions omitted for clarity.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the tone arm assembly and therecord driving assembly of the embodiment of the apparatus of thisinvention shown in FIG. 1 with a portion of the record driving assemblyrepresented in exploded form and with a disc type record shown inoperating position and the cover of the disc type record unit of FIG. 2shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the embodiment of the apparatus ofthis invention shown in FIG. 1 with portions removed or broken away toexpose the cooperating mechanism for the tone arm assembly and the slideviewer assembly thereof.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view, partially in cross-section and partiallyin elevation, of the record changing mechanism of the embodiment of theapparatus of this invention shown in FIG. 1 with the elements thereof inposition immediately prior to the full insertion of the disc record unitof FIG. 2 therein, an end view of such disc record unit also appearingin FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but showing the disc record unitfully inserted and the elements of the record changing mechanism in theposition corresponding thereto.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the fully assembled recorddriving and tone arm module of the embodiment of the apparatus of thisinvention shown in FIG. 1 but with the cover removed to show theinternal elements thereof.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged top view of the disc type record unit of FIG. 2with the top cover thereof removed to expose the internal parts thereof.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 11with the top cover thereof in place.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 13--13 of FIG. 11with the top cover thereof in place.

FIG. 14 is a representation of the electrical circuitry of theembodiment of this invention shown in FIG. 1, which representation ispartly in schematic form and partly in block diagram form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of thisinvention in the form of a fully assembled hand-held device is shown.According to this embodiment of the invention the apparatus isconstructed of a series of modules according to the various functionswhich the apparatus must perform which modules are assembled on a frame.Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 the device 10 according to this embodiment ofthe apparatus of this invention comprises an optical module 11, an audioamplifier and power supply module 12, a synchronization module 13 and asound track drive module 14. All of the above modules are physicallymounted on a frame unit 15 as will be more fully described hereinafterand which frame unit 15 includes the photo-image slide carriage unit 16and the sound track unit receptacle 17.

As shown in FIG. 1 the various photo-images 18a-18n may be mounted in anappropriate frame 19, however, it is also contemplated that suchphoto-images could be formed on a single strip of film material suitablefor insertion into the slide transport member 16. As shown in FIG. 1 thephoto-images 18a- 18n may be arranged in two rows extending the lengthof the slide transport member 16. Although there are six photo-images ineach row as shown in FIG. 1, it will be understood that more or lessphoto-images may be used as desired. It will also be understood that therow of photo-images 18a through 18f are not in operative position asshown in FIG. 1, whereas the second row comprising photo-images from 18gthrough 18n are in operative position and thus hidden from view withinthe device 10.

Referring to FIG. 2 a sound track unit 20 is shown in position forinsertion into the receptacle 17 of the device 10. In the sound trackunit 20 according to this embodiment of the invention, as broadly shownin FIG. 2, the sound track may be driven through a pair of apertureswhich are shown at 21 and 22. The sound track may be recorded on a pairof apertured discs mounted for rotary movement independently of eachother within a housing 23, for example, in which case a pair ofelongated apertures 25 and 26 are provided through such housing and eachassociated with a different one of such discs to provide access for thepickup unit of a tone arm (not shown in FIG. 1) to the sound recordingson such discs. It will be understood that other means of recording thesound track as by means of magnetic tape, for example, could be used inother embodiments of this invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the sound recordings on the disc associatedwith apertures 21 and 25 are correlated with the photo-images from18f-18n and the sound recordings on the discs associated with apertures22 and 26 are correlated with the photo-images 18a- 18f. Thus, it willbe understood that the orientation of both the slide 19 and the recordunit 20 must be changed with respect to the device 10 in order to placethe photo-images 18a- 18f and the disc bearing the sound recordingscorrelated therewith, which disc is associated with apertures 22 and 26,into operative position. Such change in orientation is accomplished byremoving the slide 19 and inverting it in the slide carriage member 16and by removing the sound track unit 20 from the receptacle 17 andturning the unit 20 end-for-end for reinsertion to the receptacle 17. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the sound track unit 20 may be held in receptacle17 in any one of four orientations by the engagement of posts 27 at theentrance to the receptacle 17 with appropriate recesses 28 formed at theedges of both the upper and lower surfaces of the unit 20 as shown inFIG. 2.

The device 10 according to this embodiment of the apparatus of thisinvention is designed to enable it to be hand-held in use although itcould also be mounted on a support (not shown). Thus, the device 10 isdimensioned so that the thumb of the left hand of the user may supportthe frame 15 under the receptacle 17 with the fingers of the left handin contact with the top of the sound track driver module 14. Similarly,the thumb of the right hand of the user may support the frame 15 at theopposite end of the device 10 with the fingers of the right hand incontact with the top of the audio amplifier and power supply module 12.

As shown in FIG. 1 the front side of the optical module 11 is providedwith a pair of eye pieces 41 and 42 with an indent 40 to accommodate thenose of the user. It will be understood that the optical module 11 andsynchronization module 13 are lighter in weight than the audio amplifierand power supply module 12 and sound track drive module 14. Thus, thedevice 10 is confortably balanced when the hands of the user engage thedevice 10 toward the rear of the slide carriage unit 16 as shown in FIG.1.

Referring to FIG. 3 a fragmentary view of the rear corner of the rightside of the device 10 is shown in order to illustrate the type ofcontrols which may be built into the audio amplifier and power supplymodule 12. It will be understood that such location of the controls willprovide convenient access for manipulation by the right hand of the userwhen the unit is in operation.

The most important control from the standpoint of the user is amicroswitch associated with the loudspeaker grille 30. As most clearlyshown in FIG. 1 the loudspeaker grille 30 provides the upper surface forthe right end portion of the audio amplifier and power supply module 12.Thus, the fingers of the right hand of the user of the unit normallyrest lightly on top of the loudspeaker grille 30 when the device 10 ishand-held for use. According to this embodiment of the invention anormally open microswitch is mechanically associated with theloudspeaker grille 30 such that a squeezing action of the right hand ofthe user will force the loudspeaker grille downwardly to close themicroswitch. As will be described more fully hereinafter the closing ofthe microswitch will activate appropriate circuitry to move thephoto-image slide in either direction depending upon the setting of afurther control. The circuitry is such that a momentary squeezing actionwill be sufficient to move the photo-image slide through a completecycle from one photo-image to the next photo-image without furtheraction by the operator. The circuitry is also such that the exertion ofcontinuous pressure on the loudspeaker grille 30 by the hand of theoperator will result in continuous movement of the photo-image slide.

Referring to FIG. 3 the other manual controls provided in the device 10according to this embodiment of the apparatus of this invention may be asimple toggle or slide type switches. Thus, a single throw, single poleon-off switch 31 is provided to connect or disconnect the device 10 fromthe power supply thereof. Such power supply may comprise a set of 6 voltrechargeable nickle-cadmium batteries, for example. A double throw,double pole forward-reverse switch 32 is connected across the motor fordriving the photo-image slide transport mechanism, thus enabling theoperator to select the direction in which such mechanism will move. Asingle pole, single throw on-off switch 33 may be provided forconnecting or disconnecting the power supply across an appropriate lightsource such as an incandescent lamp for illuminating the photo-image tobe viewed. A single throw, double pole high-low switch 34 may also beprovided to control the power output of the audio amplifier. Finally, asingle pole, double throw audio on-off and reset switch 35 may beprovided which, in its "off" position will automatically reset the audioportion of the device back to the beginning of a particular soundrecording associated with a particular photo-image so that when theswitch 35 returns to its "on" position, the audio presentation will berepeated.

As shown in FIG. 3 an earphone jack 36 may be provided for the insertionof the plug of an earphone type speaker (not shown). Such jack 36 may beof the type which automatically disconnects the audio amplifier from theloudspeaker located under the grille 30 at the same time that it makesconnection to the earphone connected to the plug inserted in the jack36.

The audio amplifier and power supply module 12 may be made in upper andlower sections joined by a hinge structure 37. As shown in FIG. 3, theaudio amplifier is in the upper section and the power supply is in thelower section of module 12.

Referring to FIG. 4 the optically active elements of the optical module11 together with a representation of a photo-image are shown. Asindicated in FIG. 4 the optical system of this embodiment of apparatusaccording to this invention is a stereoscopic system. Thus, the eyepieces 41 and 42 include large aperture lenses which may be used bydifferent persons without adjustment even though the spacing between theeyes of different persons may vary. The photo-image 18n comprises a lefthand view and a right hand view. As shown in FIG. 4 the photo-image 18ncomprises two different fields of vision. Thus, at the top ofphoto-image 18n a field of vision represented by left hand and righthand circular figures is shown and at the bottom of photo-image 18n afield of vision represented by left hand and right hand triangularfigures is shown.

Considering first the top field of vision represented by the circles, itwill be seen that the line of vision between the left eye of theobserver and the left hand view of the field of vision passes througheye piece 41 to an outer inclined mirror 43 and from there to an innerinclined mirror 45. The inner inclined mirror 45 is spaced from thephoto-image so as to exclude the right hand view of the field of visionfrom the left eye of the observer. Similarly, the line of vision for theright eye of the observer proceeds through the eye piece 42 to an outerinclined mirror 44 and from there to an inner inclined mirror 46 whichis spaced from the photo-image 18n so as to exclude the left hand viewof the field of vision from the right eye of the observer. Thus, the twofields of vision may be slightly different from each other in order toprovide a stereoscopic effect.

However, it has been found that such optical system provides usefuleffects even where the images presented are images of planar objectssuch as charts or printed materials. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4 the upperviews of the field of vision represented by the circles are separatedfrom each other by a greater distance than the lower views of the fieldof vision represented by the triangles. It has been found that evenwhere the two views of each field of vision are identical to each otherthe circle will appear to the observer to be further from the observerthan the triangle. Thus, it has been found to be easier for the observerto focus his attention on one field of vision to the exclusion of theother. Furthermore, it has been found that when the field of vision is aprinted page of material, it is easier for the observer to read suchmaterial from the photo-image.

From the above broad description of the unit 10 according to oneembodiment of the apparatus of this invention, it will be understoodthat the main objective of the apparatus according to the teaching ofthis invention is to provide for optimum interaction between suchapparatus and the user of the apparatus. Thus, as will be described morefully hereinafter, the user of the device 10 according to this inventionmay place a slide 19 of photo-images in the slide transport member 16and a sound track unit 20 in receptacle 17 properly oriented to enablethe reproduction of the sound recordings corresponding to thephoto-images to be viewed. By proper manipulation of the controls 30-35,the operator may select any one of the photo-images of a particular rowon the slide 19 for viewing and he will automatically hear the soundrecording correlated therewith. He may interrupt the viewing andreproduction of the sound recording at any time to move on to anotherphoto-image. He may go either forward or backward from one photo-imageto the next and he may continue to observe a particular photo-imageafter the sound recording correlated therewith has been completelyreproduced. He may also repeat the sound recording, or a portionthereof, associated with a particular photo-image while continuing toview such photo-image. Finally, by simple reorientation of thephoto-slide 19 and the sound track unit 20, the operator may select anyparticular photo-image and sound recording associated therewith from alarge number thereof. Thus, the unit 10 as shown in FIG. 1 will providesubstantially random access to any one of 12 photo-images together withthe sound recording corresponding thereto requiring only that the slide19 be inverted and the sound record unit 20 be turned end for end andthat the controls 30-35 be manipulated to bring a proper photo-imageinto view. Such operations may be quickly performed without thenecessity for running any appreciable portion of the normal sequencewhich the unit is designed to provide in a semiautomatic program.

Referring to FIG. 5 an exploded view of the elements of the device 10according to the embodiment of FIG. 1 are shown. The covers of thevarious modules have been removed or the modules opened in order toreveal certain internal parts thereof with other parts omitted forclarity. Thus, it will be seen that the frame 15 comprises an open sidedhollow box providing the receptacle 17 for the sound track unit 20. Arigid elongated support plate 50 extends across the top of the hollowbox member perpendicularly to the open side thereof and projectstherefrom. Thus, the frame 15 comprising the hollow box and the plate 50secured thereto form a rigid structure of substantially T-shape in topview. The plate 50 divides the upper surface of the hollow box intoforward and rear portions with the projecting portion of the plate 50providing forward and rear surfaces for the mounting of the opticalmodule 11 and the audio amplifier and power supply module 12,respectively. As indicated in FIG. 5 the synchronization module 13 ismounted on the forward portion of the upper surface of the hollow boxand the sound track drive unit 14 (the internal parts of which areomitted in FIG. 5) is mounted on the rear portion of the upper surfaceof the hollow box.

As most clearly shown in FIG. 5 the photo-image slide transportmechanism 16 is supported between the optical module 11 and the plate 50by means of a plate 63 as described hereinafter. According to thisembodiment of the invention the photo-images are transparencies and thusa light source comprising a pair of incandescent light bulbs 51 isprovided in the audio amplifier and power supply module 12 together witha translucent plate 52 which forms the forward wall of such module. Thesupport plate 50 is, of course, provided with an aperture 53 in registrywith the light source and the translucent plate 52 as well as theoptical module 11.

The photo-image slide transport member 16 comprises an elongated framehaving a row of apertures 54 therethrough corresponding to thephoto-images to be presented for viewing. It will be understood that aslide including a plurality of photo-images arranged in a row will beinserted in a slot 55 provided in the frame of the transport member 16bringing the photo-images into registry with the apertures 54 throughthe frame of the transport member 16.

The transport member 16 is moved along between the forward face of thesupport plate 50 and the optical module 11 by means of a belt 56 andsprocket 57 arrangement. As shown in FIG. 5 the transport member 16 isfixed to a point on the belt 56 between the bight portions thereof as bymeans of a screw 58. Thus, rotation of the sprockets 57 will cause thebelt to move in an endless fashion, moving the screw 58 and transportmember 16 rectilinearly between the bight portions of the beltestablished by the sprockets 57. The sprockets 57 are mounted on axles59 extending perpendicularly to the front surface of the plate member 50and one of such sprockets may be driven by an appropriate motor 60 andgear train 62. As shown in FIG. 5 the motor 60 and gear train 62 aremounted on a plate 63 which plate is adapted to be rigidly fixed to theframe member 15, sandwiching the transport member 16, belt 56 andsprockets 57 between such plate 63 and the forward surface of the plate50. It will be understood that when the plate 63 is mounted to the frame15 as by means of screws 64 (only one of which is shown) the gear train62 will engage a gear 65 located in the synchronization module and whichis coupled to one of the sprockets 57 by means of a worm gear 66 whichengages a gear 67 mounted on a common axle 59a with such sprocket 57. Aswill be more fully discussed hereinafter the gear 65 and work gear 66are mounted on a common axle 68 which is elongated and provided withscrew threads 69 at the end thereof opposite from the gear 65. Suchscrew threads 69 engage a threaded aperture in a tone arm slide member70, thus enabling the position of the tone arm of the apparatus to becorrelated with the positioning of a particular photo-image since boththe photo-image slide transport member 16 and the tone arm slide member70 are driven by the same motor 60 through the same gear train 62 and 65as will be more fully described hereinafter.

As also shown in FIG. 5, the power supply for the device 10 according tothis embodiment of the apparatus of this invention may comprise aplurality of batteries 39 mounted within the audio amplifier and powersupply module which is shown in its open position to expose thebatteries for replacement or recharging. The audio amplifier and powersupply module may be affixed to the rear surface of the plate 50 by anysuitable means such as by screws 29, for example. As also shown in FIG.5, the optical module 11 may be attached to the plate 63 by means of twoposts 38 having compressable ends thereon adapted to fit intocooperating apertures (not shown) formed in the module 11.

It will be understood that the sound track drive module 14 is mounted onthe upper rear surface of the frame 15 in the space indicated by thereference numeral 14 in FIG. 5. Representation of the internal parts ofsound track drive module 14 in FIG. 5 has been omitted for clarity andthe operative elements thereof will now be described with reference toFIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the tone arm slide member 70 mentioned in connectionwith FIG. 5 is shown in the upper right hand portion. The tone arm 71comprises a rigid elongated member mounted at one end on the tone armslide member 70. The free end of the tone arm 71 is provided with arigid bracket member 72 providing a substantially U-shaped mountingstructure for the pickup unit 73. A pivot member 74 extends between thelegs of the U-shaped supporting structure formed by the tone arm 71 andbracket 72 through apertures 75 formed in the pickup unit 73 anddimensioned to allow the pickup unit 73 to pivot freely about the pivotmember 74.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pickup unit 73 comprises a first leg 76projecting from the pivot member 74 in the direction in which the tonearm 71 extends and a second leg 77 projecting in the opposite directionfrom the first projection and offset therefrom to provide acounterweight about the axis of the pivot member 74. The second leg 77thus projects along the tone arm 71 toward the tone arm slide member 70and has a sufficient extent to contact the tone arm or the bracketmember 72 or both, thus limiting pivotal movement of the pickup unitabout the pivot member 74 in a counterclockwise direction. However, thepickup unit 73 is free to pivot about the pivot member 74 is a clockwisedirection.

A novel structure including a needle 78 mechanically coupled to apiezo-electric crystal 79 is mounted on the free end of the first leg 76of the pivot member 74 of the pickup unit 73, as shown. This structure,which will be more fully described hereinafter, provides the actualinterface between the audio recording 80 and the audio amplifier ofmodule 12.

In order to provide a more complete understanding of the operation ofthe tone arm 71 and pickup unit 73 a sound track unit 20 is shown,partly, in phantom, in FIG. 6 in operative position with respect to suchtone arm 71 and pickup unit 73. One of the record discs 80 which iscontained in the sound track unit 20 is shown in full in FIG. 6 with theneedle 78 of the pickup unit 73 in operative engagement therewith.Similarly, a magnetic friction drive structure 81 driven by a flywheel82 and magnetic pinion 83 is shown in operative engagement with the disc80.

It will be understood from FIGS. 5 and 6 that the movement of the tonearm slide member 70 will tend to move the free end of the tone arm 71and thus the needle 78 of the pickup unit 73 across the surface of thedisc 80. Thus, when the needle 78 is raised from the upper surface ofthe disc 80 by means which will be more fully described hereinafter,movement of the tone arm slide member 70 will enable the needle 78 to belocated at any particular point along a line extending radially fromnear the outer periphery of the disc 80 to a point adjacent the centerof the disc 80.

According to this embodiment of the invention, a plurality of bands84-89 of recorded material are provided on the upper surface of the disc80, as shown in FIG. 6, each of such bands corresponding to one of thephoto-images to be viewed in this embodiment of the apparatus of thisinvention. Thus, the movement of the tone arm slide member 70 issynchronized with the movement of the photo-image slide carriage unit 16so that selection of a particular image for viewing will automaticallyselect the one of the recorded bands 84-89 corresponding thereto.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that both the photoimage slidecarriage unit 16 and the tone arm slide member 70 are driven by themotor 60 through the gear chain 62 which meshes with the gear 65 mountedon the axle 68. Thus, rotation of the axle 68 by the motor 60 throughgear chain 62 and gear 65 will rotate the worm gear 66 which meshes withthe gear 67 mounted on the axle 59a thereby imparting rotation to theaxle 59a.

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be seen that rotation of the axle 59a willrotate the sprocket wheel 57 mounted thereon which sprocket wheel 57engages the belt 56 to thereby drive the belt 56 and the photo-imageslide carriage unit 16 attached thereto by means of screw 58. Similarly,rotation of the axle 68 will rotate the threads 69 thereof which engagethe threaded aperture of the tone arm slide member 70, so that thephoto-image slide carriage unit 16 and the slide member 70 move insynchronism.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that a microswitch 24 is mounted onthe frame 15 in operative contact with the lower edge of the photo-imageslide carriage unit 16. It will also be seen that the lower edge of thephoto-image slide carriage unit is provided with a plurality of notchesadapted to operatively engage the microswitch 24. It will be understoodthat each of the notches 61 is associated with a different one of theapertures 54 in the photo-image slide carriage unit 16. According tothis embodiment of the invention, the microswitch 24 is a single pole,double throw switch for reasons which will be more fully describedhereinafter.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the mechanism for engaging and disengaging the soundtrack drive mechanism with the elements thereof in two differentpositions as will be explained more fully hereinafter. FIG. 10 is aperspective view of the sound track drive mechanism which will be morefully understood by considering FIGS. 6 and 10 together. The samereference numerals have been used in both FIGS. 6 and 10 to identify thesame elements.

Thus, the flywheel 82 and pinion 83 are supported by means of an arm 92(shown in exploded position in FIG. 6) with the magnetic pinion 83 incontact with the magnetic friction drive structure 81. The arm 92 andthe magnetic friction drive structure 81 are both mounted on the soundtrack drive support slide 94 by means of a shaft 96. Referring to FIG.6, it will be understood that the magnetic friction drive structure 81is journalled on the end of the shaft 96 for rotation about the axisthereof. Similarly, it will be understood that the shaft 96 is fixedlyheld in the support slide 94 by means of set screws 95 and that the arm92 is fixedly mounted on the extending end of the shaft 96 by means ofset screws 93. The flywheel 82 and pinion 83 are provided with a commonaxle 97 which is journalled in a sleeve 98. The sleeve 98 is in turnrigidly mounted in an aperture in the arm 92 by means of set screws 91.Thus, it will be seen that the magnetic friction drive structure 81,flywheel 82 and pinion 83 may be raised and lowered as a unit by raisingand lowering the support slide 94 as will be more fully described inconnection with FIGS. 8 and 9.

As shown in FIG. 10, the flywheel 82 is driven by an electric motor 102which is coupled to the flywheel 82 by means of a drive belt 103.

As also shown in FIG. 10, a solenoid 104 is mechanically coupled to thepickup unit 73 by means of a bowden wire or cable 105. The sheath of thebowden cable is rigidly fixed between the housing of the solenoid 104and a plate 107 carried by the bracket 72 of the pickup unit 73. Thecentral wire 108 of the bowden cable 105 is attached at one end to theplunger of the solenoid 104 and the other end of the central wire 108 ofthe bowden cable 105 extends through an enlarged aperture 109 in thesecond leg 77 of the pickup unit 73. The axis of the aperture 109 isparallel to the axis of the aperture 75 through which the pivot member74 is received. After passing through the aperture 109, the central wire108 of the bowden cable 105 terminates in a plug member 110 which tapersfrom a diameter smaller than aperture 109 adjacent the second leg 77 toa diameter larger than aperture 109. Thus, when the solenoid 104 isenergized, it will pull on the central wire 108 of the bowden cable 105drawing the plug 110 into the aperture 109 and thus simultaneouslyraising the pickup unit 73 and causing it to pivot in a counterclockwisedirection about the pivot member 74 until the set screw 111 in thesecond leg 77 of the pickup unit 73 contacts the bracket member 72 tolimit such counter-clockwise motion of the pickup unit 73.

Referring to FIG. 14, a representation of the electrical interconnectionof the elements of the device 10 partially in schematic form andpartially in block diagram form is shown. Thus, it will be seen that themicroswitch 24 associated with the slide carriage unit 16 and themicroswitch 30a (not otherwise shown in the drawing) associated with thespeaker grille 30 are connected in parallel with each other. Thebatteries 39 of the power supply of module 12 are connected across thedrive motor 60 of the synchronization module through the on-off switch31, the parallel connected microswtiches 24 and 30a and theforward-reverse switch 32. Similarly, the solenoid 104 is connectedacross the batteries 39 through the on-off switch 31, the parallelconnected microswitches 24 and 30a and the diode D1 (not otherwise shownin the drawing). It will be understood that microswitches 24 and 30a arespring biased to be normally open with respect to the motor 60 andsolenoid 104. Thus, if the on-off switch is closed, the closing ofeither microswitch 24 or 30a against its spring bias will energize themotor 60 and the solenoid 104. The direction of rotation of the motor 60will be determined by the setting of the forward-reverse switch 32 andupon the closing of either microswitch 24 or 30a, the solenoid 104 willraise the pickup unit 73 and the motor 60 will drive the slide carriageunit 16 and tone arm slide 70 in the direction selected by theforward-reverse switch 32 in synchronism with each other.

As mentioned hereinabove the microswitch 24 is a single throw, doublepole switch. Thus, as shown in FIG. 14 the battery 39 is connectedacross the drive motor 102 of the sound track drive module through theon-off switch 31, the normally closed pole of the microswitch 24 and avariable motor speed control resistor R1 (not otherwise shown in thedrawing). The light bulbs 51 are connected across the motor 102 andresistor R1 through the lamp on-off switch 33 and the audio amplifier ofthe module 12 is connected across the motor 102 and resistor R1 throughone pole of the audio on-reset switch 35. The other pole of the audioon-reset switch 35 is connected to the junction between the diode D1 andthe solenoid 104.

The piezoelectric crystal 79 of the pickup unit 73 is connected to theinput of the audio amplifier of module 12 through the single throw,double pole high-low audio switch 34. A resistor R2 (not otherwise shownin the drawings) is connected between the poles of the high-low audioswitch 34.

The output of the audio switch amplifier of module 12 is applied to thespeaker SP1 (not otherwise shown in the drawings) in parallel with theearphone jack 36. As mentioned hereinabove, the earphone jack 36 is ofthe type adapted to disconnect the speaker SP1 from the output of theaudio amplifier when the plug of the earphone is inserted therein.

From the above, it will be understood that the audio amplifier of module12, the light bulbs 51 and the sound track drive motor 102 are normallyenergized through the normally closed pole of microswitch 24 when theon-off switch 31 is turned on. The switches 33 and 35 may be operated toturn off the light bulbs 51 and audio amplifier of module 12,respectively. If the microswitch 30a is closed by exerting pressure onthe grille 30 of the units as described hereinabove, the synchronizationdrive motor 60 and solenoid 104 will be energized lifting up the pickupunit 73 and causing movement of the slide carriage unit 16 and tone armslide 70. As soon as the slide carriage unit 16 has moved sufficientlyso that the actuation means of the microswitch 24 is no longer receivedin a notch 61 in the slide 16, the microswitch will be thrown to itsnormally open pole, thereby maintaining the energization of thesynchronization drive motor 60 and solenoid 104 even though themicroswitch 30a is subsequently allowed to return to its normally openposition. Simultaneously, the sound track drive motor 102, light bulbs51 and audio amplifier will be disconnected from the power supply by themicroswitch 24. The synchronization drive motor 60 will continue to rununtil an adjacent notch 61 on the slide carriage unit 16 is brought intoalignment with the actuation means of the microswitch 24 at which timethe microswitch 24 will return to its normal position disconnecting thesolenoid 104 and motor 60 from the power supply and connecting the lightbulbs 51, motor 102 and audio amplifier to the power supply. It will beunderstood that the positions of the notches 61 in the slide carriageunit 16 are related to the apertures 54 in the slide carriage unit 16 insuch a way that each of such apertures 54 will be aligned with theaperture 53 in the plate 50 when a different one of the notches 61 is inoperative alignment with the actuation means of the microswitch 24.Thus, a photo-image 18 will be presented for viewing each time a notch61 is in operative engagement with the actuation means of themicroswitch 24 and will remain in such position unless and until themicroswitch 30a is closed to restart the movement cycle of the carriageslide unit 16 and tone arm slide 70.

Referring to FIG. 14 and assuming that a photo-image is in position forviewing, the operation of the audio on-reset switch 35 from its "on"position to its "reset" position will be to turn off the audio amplifierof the module 12 by disconnecting it from the power supply andsimultaneously connecting the solenoid 104 across the battery 39 inparallel with the sound track drive motor 102 and resistor R1. Undersuch circumstances the diode D1 prevents the synchronization drive motor60 from being energized. The energization of the solenoid 104 will raisethe pickup unit 73 and return it to its initial position with respect tothe photo-image in view causing the portion of the sound trackassociated with that photoimage to be repeated from its beginning whenthe switch 35 is returned to the audio on-position.

The operation of the high-low audio switch 34 simply places theadditional resistance of resistor R2 in, or removes it from, the inputcircuit of the audio amplifier of module 12, thus reducing the audiooutput thereof. It would, of course, be possible to provide acontinuously adjustable resistance in the input circuit of the audioamplifier, however, it is believed that a high and low setting for suchaudio amplifier will prove satisfactory in normal use of the device ofthis invention.

The insertion and removal of the slides 19 carrying the photo-images 18into the slot 55 of the slide carriage unit 16 is, of course, a simpleand straightforward operation. However, the insertion and removal of thesound track unit 20 into the receptacle 17 and the engagement therewithof the sound track drive mechanism as well as the disengagement of thesound track drive mechanism from the sound track unit 20 and removal ofthe sound track unit 20 from the receptacle 17 is more complicated.FIGS. 8 and 9 show the mechanism for engaging and disengaging the soundtrack drive mechanism in two different positions, and FIGS. 11 through13 show the structural details of a preferred embodiment of the soundtrack unit 20 according to this invention with the interface between thesound track drive mechanism and the sound track unit 20 being shown inFIG. 12.

Referring first to FIGS. 8 and 9, the sound track unit 20 is shown inthe process of being inserted into the receptacle 17 in FIG. 8, and inFIG. 9 the sound track unit 20 is shown fully inserted in the receptacle17 with the sound track drive mechanism operatively engaged therewith.The operative elements to be described hereinafter with respect to FIGS.8 and 9 are mounted on the forward wall of the sound track drive module14 as shown in FIG. 10. Thus, comparison of FIGS. 8 and 9 with FIG. 10will be helpful although only a few of the reference numerals of FIGS. 8and 9 are repeated in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 the drive mechanism support slide 94 comprisesupper and lower legs mounted on a vertically extending shaft 114. Theupper and lower ends of the shaft 114 are received in upper and lowerflanges, respectively, of the housing for the sound track drive module14, as shown. Thus, the support slide 94 is capable of movement up anddown along the shaft 114 between the position shown in FIG. 8 when theupper leg of the support slide 94 is in contact with the upper flange ofthe module 14 and a position in which the upper leg of the support slide94 is spaced from the upper flange of the module 14, as shown in FIG. 9.It will be understood, as explained hereinabove, that the magneticfriction drive structure 81 is carried up and down with the supportslide 94, as is the flywheel 82 and pinion 83 carried by the arm 92which is mounted on the support slide 94. Thus, when the support slide94 is in the position shown in FIG. 8, the magnetic friction drivestructure 81, flywheel 82 and pinion 83 are raised to disengage themfrom operative relationship with the sound track unit 20, and when thesupport slide 94 is in the position shown in FIG. 9 the magneticfriction drive structure 81, flywheel 82 and pinion 83 are in operativerelationship with the sound track unit 20, as will be more fullydescribed in connection with FIG. 12.

As can be seen in FIG. 10, the support slide 94 and magnetic frictiondrive structure 81, as well as the flywheel 82, pinion 83 and supportarm 92 are all relatively massive. Thus, the weight of these elements issufficient to urge the support slide 94 toward its lower position shownin FIG. 9 and insure effective engagement between the sound track drivemechanism and the sound track unit 20.

As shown in FIG. 8 the slide support member 94 is raised from its lowerposition by the engagement of the pawl 115 formed in the apex of thegenerally triangular pivot arm 116. As shown in FIG. 9 the base of thegenerally triangular pivot arm 116 extends generally vertically and thepivot arm 116 is mounted on a shaft 117 extending therethrough at theupper base angle thereof whereby the pivot arm 116 may be urged to pivotto the position shown in FIG. 8 by means of a coil spring 118 mounted onthe shaft 117 with one end of the spring 118 bearing against a sideflange of the module 14 and the other end of the coil spring 118 bearingon the pivot arm 116. It will be understood that the coil spring 118must exert sufficient force on the pivot arm 116 to overcome the weightof the support slide 94 and the sound track drive mechanism mountedthereon, so that the support slide 94 will be maintained in the positionshown in FIG. 8 when there is no sound track unit 20 in the receptacle17.

When a sound track unit 20 is being inserted in the receptacle 17, asshown in FIG. 8, it will first engage a key hook 121 carried on thelower free end of an elongated pivot arm 122 which pivot arm 122 ismounted for pivotal movement about a shaft 123 extending therethrough atthe upper end thereof. The pivot arm 122 is urged toward the positionthereof shown in FIG. 8 by cantilever spring 124 having one end mountedon a side flange of the module 14 and the other end extending intocontact with the pivot arm 122. When the sound track unit 20 is fullyinserted in the receptacle 17 the pivot arm 122 will be moved to theposition shown in FIG. 9 against the force of the spring 124 and theposts 27 at the entrance of the receptacle 17 will engage the recesses28 in the housing 23 of the sound track unit 20 to hold the sound trackunit 20 in the receptacle 17 against the force of the spring 124.

As will be more fully described hereinafter, the key hook 121 entersinto an aperture in the sound track unit to open shutters which normallyseal the tone arm apertures 25, 26 in the housing 23 of the sound trackunit 20. Thus, the force exerted by the spring 124 not only tends toeject the sound track unit 20 from the receptacle 17 when the posts 27are disengaged from the recesses 28, but also provides sufficient forcefor operation of the shutter mechanism of the sound track unit 20.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 an elongated locking pin 125 projects from thepivot arm 122 toward the generally triangular pivot arm 116. The pivotarm 116 is provided with a one-way pivot pawl 126 which is mounted onthe pivot arm 116 by means of a shaft 119. The pivot pawl 126 is adaptedto pivot about the shaft 119 in a clockwise direction, but is restrainedfrom pivoting about the shaft 119 in a counterclockwise direction. Thus,as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the spring 118 actually bears against thepivot pawl 126 of the pivot arm 116, thus, urging the pivot pawl 126 torotate in a counterclockwise direction against its stop, and at the sametime urging the pivot arm 116 toward the position shown in FIG. 8.

The pivot pawl 126 is provided with a projection of sufficient length toengage the free end of the locking pin 125 during an intermediateportion of the travel of such locking pin 125 from the position thereofshown in FIG. 8 to the position shown in FIG. 9. Thus, as the soundtrack unit 20 is inserted into the receptacle 17 pivoting the elongatedpivot arm 122 about the shaft 123 against the force of spring 124, itcauses the free end of the locking pin 125 to move downwardly engagingthe projection on the pivot pawl 126 of the pivot arm 116. The lockingpin 125 exerts a force on the projection of the pivot pawl 126 tendingto force it to pivot in a counterclockwise direction. However, since thepivot pawl 126 is restrained from pivoting in a counterclockwisedirection, such force is transmitted to pivot arm 116 causing it torotate in a counterclockwise direction against the force of the spring118 to the position thereof shown in FIG. 9. Such rotation of the pivotarm 116 removes the pawl 115 thereof from supporting relation with thelower side of the upper arm of the support slide 94, thus allowing thesupport slide 94 to move downwardly by the force of gravity to theposition shown in FIG. 9.

A pivot arm 127 of inverted U-shape is mounted on a shaft 120 extendingthrough the free end of one of its legs adjacent the lower base angle ofthe pivot arm 116, the pivot arm 116 being provided with a dog member128 at its lower base angle which extends within the inverted U-shape ofthe pivot arm 127. It will be seen that the free end of the other leg ofpivot arm 127 extends into the receptacle 17 and that a notch 129 forreceiving the dog member 128 of the pivot arm 116 is provided in thepivot arm 127 adjacent such free end of the other leg member of thepivot arm 127.

Thus, when the locking pin 125 engages the pivot pawl 126 forcing thepivot arm 116 to rotate toward the position shown in FIG. 9, the dogmember 128 on the pivot arm 116 will tend to raise the pivot arm 127until the dog member 128 enters the notch 129.

The various members are dimensioned such that the engagement between thelocking pin 125 and pivot pawl 126 will cease when the dog member 128has entered the notch 125. Thus, the pivot arm 116 will be held in theposition shown in FIG. 9 by the engagement of the dog member 128 of thepivot arm 116 with the notch 129 of the pivot arm 127. In this positionthe free end 130 of the other leg of the pivot arm 127 will project onlyslightly into the receptacle 17. Continued insertion of the sound trackunit 20 into the receptacle 17 will rotate the pivot arm 122 and lockingpin 125 to the position shown in FIG. 9 at which point the posts 27engage the recesses 28 in the housing 23 of the sound unit 20, asdescribed hereinabove.

As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom wall of the receptacle 17 is providedwith an aperture 131 large enough to receive the fingers of the operatorof the device. To release the sound track unit 20 from the receptacle 17the operator pushes upwardly thereon through the aperture 131, thussimultaneously disengaging the posts 27 from the notches 28 and pushingupwardly on the free end 130 of the leg of the pivot arm 127 whichprojects into receptacle 17.

It will be seen that the pivot arm 127 will be caused to rotate in acounterclockwise direction when the sound track unit 20 is pushedupwardly in receptacle 17. Such rotation of the pivot arm 127 will causethe disengagement of the dog member 128 of pivot arm 116 from the notch129 of pivot arm 127. Disengagement of the dog member 128 from the notch129 will allow the spring 118 to force the pivot arm 116 to rotate in aclockwise direction bringing the pawl 115 into engagement with theunderside of the upper arm of the support slide member 94 therebyraising the support slide member to disengage the sound track drivemechanism from the sound track unit 20.

When the sound track drive mechanism has been disengaged from the soundtrack unit 20, the spring 124 will cause the pivot arm 122 to rotate ina counterclockwise direction and the key hook 121 carried at the freeend of the pivot arm 122 will tend to eject the sound track unit 20 fromthe receptacle 17 causing the sound track unit 20 to project from thereceptacle 17 a sufficient distance to be grasped by the hand as shownin FIG. 8. As the pivot arm 122 rotates in a counterclockwise direction,the free end of the locking pin 125 will be brought into contact withthe lower inclined surface of the pivot pawl 126. Such engagement willrotate the pivot pawl 126 in a clockwise direction allowing the free endof the locking pin 125 to pass the pawl 126 and return to the positionshown in FIG. 8.

In order to insure that the sound track mechanism carried by the slidemember 94 is properly centered over the sound track unit 20 forengagement and disengagement thereof, the upper arm of the support slide94 is provided with a pair of nylon screws 134. Such nylon screws 134pass through the upper arm of the support slide 94 and into contact withthe vertical end wall of the module 14 upon which the pivot arm 116, 122and 127 are mounted. Thus, by proper adjustment of the screws 134 thesupport slide 94 may be rotated about the axis of the shaft 114 andrigidly held in a particular radially extending position by the abutmentbetween the screws 134 and the end wall of the module 14. Since thescrews 134 are made of nylon they will offer minimum resistance to thesliding movement of the support slide up and down along the shaft 114due to their contact with such end wall.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the engagement between the sound trackdrive mechanism and the sound track unit will be more fully understood.FIGS. 11 and 12 and 13 show the structural details of the sound trackunit 20 and FIG. 12 includes a cross-sectional view of the magneticfriction drive structure and magnetic pinion in operative engagementwith the sound track unit 20.

Referring first to FIG. 12 which will be more fully understood ifconsidered in conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 10, it will be seen that themagnetic friction drive unit comprises an annular magnet 135 sandwichedbetween upper 136 and lower 137 pole pieces which pole pieces are in theform of circular discs. The magnetic pinion 83 comprises a cylinder 138of magnetic material mounted on the end of the shaft 97 in contact withthe peripheral surfaces of the pole pieces 136 and 137 by means of aresilient grommet 139. Thus, the magnetic cylinder 138 will be heldfirmly in contact with the peripheral surfaces of the pole pieces 136and 137 by the magnetic force of the magnet 135. Rotation of the shaft97 will rotate the cylinder 138 tending to impart rotation to the polepieces 136 and 137. The resilient grommet 139 will provide for somedegree of misalignment between the axis of the cylinder 138 and the axisof the shaft 97 produced by inaccuracies in the size or alignment of theperipheral surfaces of the pole pieces 136 and 137.

On the lower pole piece 137 is provided a sound track driving member 140in the form of a truncated right circular cone having its base rigidlyconnected to the lower surface of the pole piece 137 and extendingcoacially with the structure 81 to its truncated apex. The magnet 135,pole pieces 136 and 137 and drive member 140 are all rigidlyinterconnected to form the magnetic friction drive structure 81 which isjournalled on the lower end of the shaft 96 for rotation about the axisof such shaft 96 by the pinion 83.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the apertures 21 and 22 of the sound trackdrive unit 20 are each provided with a drive cylinder 141 and 142,respectively. According to this embodiment of the invention, the innersurface of each of such drive cylinders 141 and 142 form a pair oftruncated right circular cones having their truncated apexes joined andtheir bases at opposite ends of the cylinder. The dimensions of theinternal surfaces of the drive cylinders 141 and 142 and the externaldimensions of the drive cone 140 are selected to enable the drive cone140 to enter the drive cylinders 141 and 142 from either end thereof andengage such internal surface as shown in FIG. 12. Thus, it will be seenthat rotation of the magnetic friction drive structure 81 about the axisof the shaft 96 will also tend to impart rotation to the drive cylinder141 due to the contact between the conical exterior surface of thedriving cone 140, and the conical interior surface of the drive cylinder141.

According to this embodiment of the invention, as best shown in FIG. 11,the sound track is recorded on a pair of record discs 80, each of whichis mounted on a different one of the drive cylinders 141 and 142. Thedrive cylinders 141 and 142, each of which carries a disc 80, aremounted for rotation within the sound track unit 20, as will now bedescribed.

As best shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the sound track unit 20 comprises arigid frame 150 in the form of a hollow open-ended rectangular box.Flanged cover members 151 and 152, each of which is provided withapertures 21 and 22 for receiving the driving cone 140 as well asapertures 25 and 26 for receiving the needle 78 of the pickup unit 73,close the open ends of the box formed by the frame 150 with the recorddiscs 80 and drive cylinders 141 and 142 sandwiched therebetween.

As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 11, the four corners of the frame 150 areprovided with a reinforcing structure 154, each of which includes aneyelet 155. The eyelet 155 provides a convenient method for attachingthe covers 151 and 152 to the frame 150 after the unit 20 has been fullyassembled. The eyelet 155 also cooperates with the grooves 28 formed inthe edges of the covers 151 and 152 to provide a socket for the posts 27of the receptacle 17 in holding the unit 20 in the receptacle 17.

As best shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, each of the drive cylinders 141 and142 is provided with a flange 143 which serves both as the means ofmounting a record 80 on such drive cylinder and as the means of mountingthe drive cylinders 141 and 142 between the covers 151 and 152. It willbe seen that such flange 143 is displaced slightly toward one end of thecylinders 141 and 142. Thus, by inverting the cylinders with respect toeach other, the records 80 mounted on the flanges 143 of the respectivecylinders will be positioned at different levels within the unit 20 sothat such records 80 may overlap each other, as best shown in FIG. 11.The flanges 143 of the drive cylinders 141 and 142 may be sandwichedbetween ball bearings 144, which are in turn sandwiched betweenappropriate shims 145, which abut the adjacent inner surfaces of thecover members 151 and 152.

Also sandwiched between the covers 151 and 152 are mounted on the frame150 are four shutter members 161, 162, 163 and 164. A first pair ofshutter members 161, 163 are located on opposite sides of the recorddisc 80 associated with the driving cylinder 141 and a second pair ofshutter members 162 and 164 are located on opposite sides of the recorddisc 80 associated with driving cylinder 142.

It will be understood that the record discs 80 have recording groovesformed on both of their surfaces in bands 84-89, as describedhereinabove. Thus, each of the shutters 161 and 163 are associated withan aperture 25 through a different one of the cover plates 151 and 152which provides access to one of the sides of the disc 80 associated withthe drive cylinder 141. Similarly, each of the shutter members 162 and164 are associated with one of the apertures 26, which provides accessto one of the sides of the record disc 80 associated with the drivingcylinder 142.

As best shown in FIG. 11, the shutters 161-164 extend across the widthof the sound track unit 20 and are relieved at their center toaccommodate the driving cylinders 141 and 142, ball bearings 144, andshims 145. One end of each shutter 161-164 is provided with a pair ofdown-turned flanges 166 and 167. As best shown in FIG. 13, one of theflanges 166 is received over the sidewall of the frame 150 and the otherend 168 of the shutter rests on top of the sidewall of the frame member150. The downwardly extending flange 166 is compressively held againstthe frame member 150 by a spring member 169 mounted between flanges onthe cover members 151 and 152. The flanges 167 on shutter members 161and 164 are located adjacent each other inside the frame member 150 andopposite an aperture 170 which extends through the sidewall of the framemember 150. Such aperture 170 is best shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 9.

Referring specifically to FIG. 9, it will be seen that when the soundtrack unit 20 is inserted into the receptacle 17, the key hook 121mounted on the end of the pivot member 122 will enter the aperture 170through the sidewall of the frame 150 which is presented to it. Entry ofthe key hook 121 into the aperture 170 will bring it into abutment withthe flanges 167 on either shutters 161 and 164 or 162 and 163 dependingupon the orientation of the sound track unit 20. Due to such abutment,the two shutter members involved will be caused to pivot about theflange 166 in opposition to the spring 169, thus causing the oppositeend 168 of the shutter members to slide along the top of the frame 150toward opposite ends thereof. Such movement of the shutter members willclear the apertures 25 on opposite sides of the sound track unit 20thereby providing access through upper one of such apertures for theneedle 78 of the pickup unit 73 to contact the surface of one of therecord discs 80. It will be understood that the other two apertures 26will remain closed. The purpose of this arrangement is, of course, toexclude dust and dirt from the interior of the sound track unit 20 whenit is not in use. Thus, the spring 169 biases the shutter member 161-164toward their closed position, except when the key hook member 121 is incompressive contact with the flanges 167.

It should be pointed out that a teflon strip 171 is interposed betweenthe overlapping portions of the record discs 80 in order to avoidabrasive contact therebetween when the unit is in operation. Similarly,teflon pads 172 are provided on the surfaces of the shutter members161-164 adjacent to record discs 80. Such teflon pads prevent abrasivedamage to the recorded surfaces on the record discs 80 is they should bebrought into contact with the shutter members 161-164 in operation. Theteflon strip 171 and the teflon pads 172 also reduce any frictional dragthat might otherwise result from contact between the record discs 80themselves or between the record discs 80 and the shutter members161-164.

Referring again to FIG. 12, it should be pointed out that if the conedrive member 40 and the drive cylinders 141 and 142 are both made ofmagnetic material, it may be possible to dispense with the rollerbearing mounting of the drive cylinders 141 and 142. In other words, themagnetic field of the magnet 135 could be used to support the drivecylinder 141 and 152 in proper position by properly locating the conedrive member 140 with respect to the sound track unit 20 and allowingsuch magnetic field to hold the selected one of the drive cylinders 141and 142 against the driving surface of cone drive member 140. In anyevent, the magnetic field would tend to increase the frictionalengagement between the cone drive member 140 and the drive cylinders 141and 142.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the audio coupling between the needle 78 andthe crystal 79 of the pickup unit 73 according to this embodiment of theinvention is provided by members 174 and 176 of resilient materialcapable of conducting the mechanical oscillations, imparted to needle 78by the grooves in the record disc 80, from the needle 78 to the crystal79 which is embedded in members 174 and 176. The members 174 and 176 aremounted on the free end of the first leg 76 of the pickup unit 73 andmember 174 is provided with a right angle projection carrying the needle78 at its free end as shown. A transverse stiffening member 175 may beprovided in parallel with the right angle projection of the member 174in order to resist the relatively constant transverse tracking forceexerted on the needle 78 by the grooves in the record disc 80 inrotating the pickup unit 73 about pivot member 74 as the sound recordingis reproduced.

A paiir of helical springs 177 of fine electrically conductive wire areelectrically connected between the piezoelectric crystal 79 and a pairof electrical terminals 178 insulatingly mounted on the bracket member72. Appropriate electrical wires (not shown) are connected between theterminals 178 and the audio amplifier of the module 12 to conduct theoutput of the crystal 79 to the amplifier.

The helical springs 177 are designed to offer minimum resistance to thevertical movement of the pickup unit 73 with respect to the bracket 72as well as to the rotational movement of the pickup unit 73 about pivotmember 74. A damping member 179 of resilient material may be mountedbetween the crystal 79 and the free end of the first leg 76 of pickupunit 73 in order to further isolate the crystal 79 from extraneousvibrations inherent in the operation of the mechanism associatedtherewith.

It should be pointed out that according to the preferred embodiment ofthis invention, the dimensions of the device 10 are selected so that twoslides 19 each including two rows of six photoimages 18 are associatedwith a sound track unit 20 capable of providing a total of about twohours of audio output and having dimensions approximately equal to thedimensions of one of such slides 19 when folded in half transversely.Thus, 24 photo-images are associated with a sound track unit 20, eachrow of six photo-images being associated with a different one of thefour possible orientations of the sound track unit, and about 5 minutesof audio output being available for each photo-image. The slides 19 maybe folded in half and placed with the sound track unit 20 for convenientstorage in a common container. Appropriate indicia may be provided onthe slides 19 and sound track unit 20 to facilitate proper correlationbetween each row of photo-images and the corresponding orientation ofthe sound track unit in inserting them into the device 10.

From the above, it will be seen that a novel audio-visual deviceproviding for optimum interaction between the device and a user thereofhas been provided. The specific embodiment of the device describedhereinabove includes many novel features all of which cooperate witheach other to provide the desired end results. However, it iscontemplated that those skilled in the art may make various obviousmodifications and changes in the specific elements of the embodiment ofthis invention as disclosed herein without departing from the teachingof this invention.

For example, a projection type optical system could be substituted forthe direct viewing optical system disclosed hereinabove with all othermodules of the device remaining the same. It would, of course, benecessary to use a different light source as well as a different lenssystem and the stereoscopic effect would be more difficult to provide ina projection system.

What is claimed is:
 1. Audio-visual apparatus comprising:a. means forpresenting each of a plurality of photo-images for viewing in either oftwo opposite sequences, including a light source and first mechanicalmeans for bringing each of said photo-images into operativejuxtaposition with said light source in sequential order; b. means forproducing the audio rendition of each of a plurality of sound recordingshaving a given time duration in excess of one second in either of twoopposite sequences each correlated with a different one of said twoopposite sequences for viewing said photo-images, comprising means forautomatically correlating the beginning of the audio rendition of eachone of said plurality of sound recordings with the beginning of thepresentation of a different one of said plurality of photo-images forviewing including a transducer head for producing audio renditions ofsaid plurality of sound recordings, said plurality of sound recordingsbeing recorded in spaced relation on a single continuous substrate insequential order corresponding to said sequential order of saidphoto-images to provide means for automatically terminating said audiorendition at the end of said given time duration of each of saidplurality of sound recordings; c. means for selecting one of said twoopposite sequences for viewing said photo-images; and d. means forcontrolling the length of time during which each photo-image ispresented for viewing and the audio rendition of the sound recordingcorrelated therewith is produced independently of said time duration ofthe one of said plurality of sound recordings correlated therewith; saidmeans for automatically correlating the beginning of the audio renditionof each one of said plurality of sound recordings with the beginning ofthe presentation of a different one of said plurality of photo-imagesfor viewing including second mechanical means controlled by said firstmechanical means for bringing said transducer head into operativejuxtaposition with the beginning of each of said plurality of soundrecordings in said sequential order; said means for controlling thelength of time during which each photo-image is presented for viewingincluding an automatic control means for stopping said first mechanicalmeans when a photo-image is in operative juxtaposition with said lightsource and a manually operable control means for starting said firstmechanical means when a photo-image is in operative juxtaposition withsaid light source, said manually operable control means being capable ofoverriding said automatic control means; and said means for producingsaid audio rendition of each of said plurality of sound recordingsincluding means for providing relative movement of said transducer headwith respect to each one of said plurality of sound recordingsindependently of said first and second mechanical means but responsiveto said manually operable control means to interrupt said audiorendition of said sound recording when said manually operable controlmeans is actuated, whereby said automatic correlation and said automatictermination is the same for either of said two opposite sequences forviewing said photo-images.
 2. Audio-visual apparatus as claimed in claim1 wherein said plurality of sound recordings are recorded in circularbands on one surface of a disc type substrate and said transducer headis a pickup unit pivotally mounted on the end of a rigid tone armmovable by said second mechanical means along a line extending between apoint adjacent the outer periphery of said disc type substrate and apoint adjacent the center of said disc type substrate.
 3. Audio-visualapparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein a pair of disc type substrateseach having said sound recordings on both surfaces thereof areindependently mounted as a unit within a common housing and with thecenters thereof spaced from each other in a common plane, whereby saidunit may be oriented in four different positions to enable theindependent rendition of the sound recordings on both sides of each ofsaid pair of disc type substrates.
 4. Audio-visual apparatus comprising:a. means for presenting each of a plurality of photo-images for viewingin either of two opposite sequences including a light source and firstmechanical means for bringing each of said photo-images into operativejuxtaposition with said light source in a given sequential order; b.means for producing the audio rendition of each of a plurality of soundrecordings having a given time duration in excess of one second ineither of two opposite sequences each correlated with a different one ofsaid two opposite sequences for viewing said photo-images includingmeans for automatically correlating the beginning of the audio renditionof each one of said plurality of sound recordings with the beginning ofthe presentation of a different one of said plurality of photo-imagesfor viewing and means for automatically terminating said audio renditionat the end of said given time duration of each of said plurality ofsound recordings which automatic correlation and automatic terminationis the same for either of said two opposite sequences for viewing saidphoto-images; c. means for selecting one of said two opposite sequencesfor viewing said photo-images; and d. means for controlling the lengthof time during which each photo-image is presented for viewing and theaudio rendition of the sound recording correlated therewith is producedindependently of said time duration of the one of said plurality ofsound recordings correlated therewith including automatic control meanscomprising means for sensing indicia associated with a photo-image andgenerating an electrical signal in response thereto for stopping saidfirst mechanical means when a photo-image is in operative juxtapositionwith said light source and a manually operable control means forstarting said first mechanical means when a photo-image is in operativejustaposition with said light source, said manually operable controlmeans being capable of overriding said automatic control means. 5.Audio-visual apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said automaticcontrol means is a microswitch and said indicia is a physical elementassociated with said photo-image and adapted to actuate saidmicroswitch.
 6. Audio-visual apparatus as claimed in claim 5 whereinsaid photo-images are mounted in a carrying frame for movement by saidfirst mechanical means in said apparatus.
 7. Audio-visual apparatus asclaimed in claim 4 wherein said means for sequentially presenting eachof a plurality of photo-images for viewing includes a stereoscopicoptical system and each of said photo-images include two spaced views ofa field of vision.
 8. Audio-visual apparatus as claimed in claim 7wherein said two views of a field of vision of one of said photo-imagesare identical.